Everywhere
by Leina
Summary: Kai being his typical self goes off somewhere to train alone, only to come face to face with the pink-haired member from the White Tigers. What happens when you leave two fiesty teens in the same room? [Hiatus]
1. First Encounter

Everywhere  
  
Chapter 1: First Encounter  
  
Disclaimer: I am saying this once and ONCE only *sticks tongue out* I don't own Beyblade, but I do own a spinning top *pointz*  
  
Authour's Notes: Hey everyone! No one probably knows me since I haven't submitted a thing forever…so I am Leina. Now about this fic…itz a dare-fic… sorta of. I don't really expect a lot of people to be interested in it since it's such an awkward pairing, but I think Kai/Mariah can work, LoL ^^ Plus, I wanted to be the first to introduce this couple to the Beyblade section! If you haven't already figured it out, it's a song-fic for the song Everywhere by Michelle Branch. Anyway, hopefully it sounds okay so far…no flames please, only constructive criticism *wink* I've never written a Beyblade fic before so don't expect this to be oh-so-wonderful, got it? Neway, onto the fic!  
  
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Kai woke up to the sound of Tyson yelling excitedly. He looked up groggily to find him and Max playing cards.  
  
"YES!!! I win again! Time to pay up buddy," laughed Tyson as he held out his hand.  
  
Max bit his bottom lip as he looked at his friend innocently, "er…well…how about we play one more time?"  
  
"WHAT AGAIN?!" exclaimed Tyson, as he threw his cards frantically into the air. "That's the third time you've said that!"  
  
"Eheh…yah I know…" smiled Max uncomfortably. "It's just…I never really expected you to win…" his voice trailed off.  
  
Tyson raised an eyebrow as he stared at his friend, "where exactly are you getting at?" he asked.  
  
The blue-eyed blonde let out a nervous laugh as he put an arm behind his head, "basically, I don't really have anything I can pay you with," he admitted with a lopsided grin.   
  
Tyson crash fell off the bed, but almost instantly rose up again, madly waving his fist. "Well you owe me for winning seven games!" he yelled loudly.   
  
Max waved his hands in front of himself defensively. "Chill out Tyson!" he scratched his light hair thoughtfully for a moment and then suddenly jumped up. "Hey I know! How about you get my dessert for a week? One dessert for each game you won, how does that sound?"  
  
Tyson's eyes widened as he glomped his friend happily. "OH YAH! You're the best pal anyone can ever have!" he declared laughing. Max soon joined in as the two of them continued with their hysterics.   
  
"Bunch of babies," Kai scoffed as he pulled himself out of bed.   
  
"Oh! G'morning Kai!" Tyson greeted him cheerfully.   
  
"Did you have a nice sleep?" asked Max with a smile.   
  
"Until you two woke me up," he retorted. "I'm getting out of here. I don't know how much more of this I can stand."  
  
Before Max or Tyson could say anything back to him, Kai had disappeared through the door.   
  
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Mariah walked through the streets as she stared at the sidewalk. Lee was really nagging her about the match she lost yesterday, she just had to get away from it for a while. The pink-haired teen tightened her grip on her Beyblade as she remembered his words.  
  
"You are disgracing the White Tigers Mariah. Our team is supposed to be the best in Hong Kong and ever since the competition began, you've been on a complete losing streak. You are jeopardizing our chance for victory in the Asian Tournament. I better see some changes soon or else."  
  
Mariah cringed at the thought of what 'or else' could be. She knew she hasn't been at her best during the tournament, but she couldn't help it. Ever since she saw Rei again, her emotions kind of got wild on her. She missed him, well, not him in particular, but just having someone close to her like he was. Sure they were still friends, they never broke that promise to each other, but Mariah just wished she had someone to be close to again. Seeing him just really made her miss the old times when she had someone who was always there for her.   
  
The golden-eyed White Tiger finally looked up, just as she was passing a stadium. 'Hm…I guess I might as well train,' she thought to herself, as she changed her direction towards the open door of the big arena.   
  
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Kai heard the metal door open and he turned his head to see who it was. A girl with pink hair soon entered the training area. 'Oh it's her,' he thought boredly.   
  
'Oh Lord,' sighed Mariah as she noticed who else was in the stadium with her. 'Great. This is just perfect. Well it's not like he owns the place, I can train here if I want to,' she thought firmly.   
  
Mariah continued walking towards a separate dish as she ignored Kai's presence. Swiftly, she launched her Beyblade onto the metal ground and began concentrating on training. For about thirty minutes or so there was nothing but silence except for the sound of their blades spinning, which was a good thing because neither of them wanted any distractions. Mariah continued to focus all her attention on her blade as she watched it fiercely circle the bowl shaped field until a voice suddenly broke the silence.   
  
"You were better last year," Kai spoke out bluntly.   
  
Mariah blinked out of her trance as she looked up to see Kai standing beside another metal bowl with his arms crossed, "like that's any of your business," she retorted.   
  
Kai smirked, "I'm just saying that you seem to have lost your edge during this tournament."  
  
Mariah's jaw dropped as she stared at the arrogant blader, "who are you to insult me like that?" she demanded, her voice rising. "You don't even KNOW me! You have no right to judge me."  
  
Kai cocked an eyebrow as he held his hand open to let Dranzer fly onto his palm. He slowly walked over to Mariah and locked his eyes on her's, "I don't have to know you to notice how your Beyblading skills have decreased," he stated simply. "If you really cared about your team, you'd let you're other teammates fight the matches. Save them the embarrassment of having a weakling like you battle."  
  
Mariah stared at him in shock as her cat-eyes became fully obvious. "Take that back!' she shouted, half angry and half hurt.   
  
Kai scoffed, "I don't have to take anything back. As far as I'm concern, I'm doing you a favour by being upfront about it with you. Now you know the truth."  
  
She stared at him furiously, not knowing what to say in response. Her mind went way-wire, trying to think of a comeback, but with no such luck. All of a sudden, she noticed the Beyblade in Kai's hand. Mariah quickly snatched it and took off towards the front door.   
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" exclaimed Kai as he immediately ran after her.  
  
"Giving you what you deserve!" she yelled back, her voice matching his irritated tone exactly.   
  
Mariah quickly ran to the open door leading outside and as soon as she got there, she threw his Beyblade out into the bushes as hard as she could. She could hear him quickly closing in on her, so without thinking, she grabbed the metal door and slammed it shut, only coming face to face with a whole new nightmare.   
  
Kai finally caught up to her and began to yell furiously, "what did you do with my Beyblade?!" he demanded. Mariah remained voiceless as she kept her back facing him. Impatiently, Kai grabbed her and turned her around roughly, "well?" he stared at her.  
  
Mariah looked at the floor apprehensively as she pointed to the metal exit. The blue-haired teen gave her a short puzzled look right before he directed his attention to the door. Kai's eyes widened as he read the sign that was posted there: "DO NOT CLOSE. CAN ONLY BE OPENED ON THE OUTSIDE"   
  
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Author's Notes: So? Wuz is majorly sucky or only sucked a bit? LoL, hopefully I gave you some entertainment ~^ I usually write more than that, but I have an essay to start that's due tomorrow *criez*. So until next time, happy reading! 


	2. Finding an Escape

Author's Notes: WOW. I cannot believe the response I got for the first chapter. I didn't expect to get so much feedback since Kariah is such an different pairing. I'm glad I did though…that sure got me to finish this chapter more quickly, ~^ I'd like to thank EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF YOU SOOOO MUCH!!^^ Alrite, now remember this *is* Kai/Mariah pairing ok? I'll see what I can do for all you Mariah/Rei fans, but don't expect them to end up together ~^ The Beyblade section's gotta have just ONE Kai/Mariah fic atleast =P Neway, let the fun begin.  
  
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Everywhere  
  
Chapter 2: Finding an Escape  
  
"No…" Kai murmured under his breath as he stared blankly at the sign. After a few seconds of being awestruck, his expression went through a transformation of emotionless back to being annoyed.   
  
"Damnit!" he yelled as he clenched his fist and punched the metal door angrily. The outraged teen could felt his temples throb from the build up of frustration from getting his Beyblade swiped and now realizing that he was trapped in an arena with a little pink-haired brat.   
  
"Can you open it?" a small voice behind him asked quietly, interrupting his mental break down.   
  
Kai gave her a sharp glare as he slid past her and began walking through the hall silently. Mariah watched as the heated Bladebreaker re-entered the training grounds. She rolled her eyes as she took after him slowly.   
  
'Now isn't this gonna be a fun experience,' she thought to herself sarcastically as she neared the entrance. 'Oh well, at least I don't have to put up with Lee lecturing me,' Mariah tried to think on the bright side. That is until she entered the blading area and saw Kai standing near a dish with the most irritated look anyone could possibly ever have, even for him.   
  
The female White Tiger bit her bottom lip as the crimson-eyed teen threw daggers with his eyes. She quickly turned her back on him to avoid his evil glare and decided it would be safer if she stayed away from him for now until he cooled off…that is if he could actually manage to. Mariah walked over to the opposite dish and stood beside it, making sure she wasn't facing him.   
  
'God that girl,' Kai thought grinding his teeth while staring intently at her back. 'She must of thrown my Beyblade outside somewhere. And as if that wasn't enough, she just *had* to get us trapped in here together,' he thought bitterly.   
  
Mariah didn't have to look behind her to feel his angry stare burning on her back. 'Uhhh! I wish he'd stop giving me that look,' she thought dreadfully. Being in the same room with someone who wanted to kill you was definitely not very comforting. At least he chose to keep his mouth shut. Kai undeniably had won himself the crown for the rudest person Mariah has ever met after giving all of those malicious remarks earlier.   
  
After fifteen minutes, which seemed like hours, of just standing there, Mariah finally got the courage to turn around, attempting to catch a peek at what her prison partner was up to. She let out a gentle sigh of relief, thankful that he quit his death glare and was simply leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed. A little smile crept onto her face as she watched him for a brief second.   
  
'You know I'm beginning to think that's the only pose he's capable of doing,' she thought teasingly. Unfortunately, her carefree moment was cut short as the blue-haired Beyblader opened his eyes unexpectedly. Her golden eyes widened as her gaze shortly met with his. Mariah tightened her fists and braced herself for another round of his fiery glares, but was let down as he just turned around and started to head towards the hallway. She blinked in surprise and tilted her head curiously.  
  
'Where in the world is that guy going?' she wondered to herself. "Hmph, like I care," she scoffed aloud while casually flipping her hair, trying to occupy herself with something to do. Mariah's eyes then began to wander around the gymnasium boredly. She continued her oh-so-exciting activity for a few more minutes, until her curiosity began to get the best of her.   
  
'Should I follow him to see what he's doing?' she began to debate with herself as she stared at the hallway ponderingly. He definitely did not want to talk to her and she wasn't too thrilled about the idea of having a conversation with Mr. Peachy either. Despite that though, the pink-haired teen shrugged and decided to tag along. She figured if she was going to be stuck with him, they had to eventually make contact sooner or later. She reckoned she'd might as well bite the gun now instead of procrastinating. Besides, she was about ready to die of extreme ennui now.   
  
Without further hesitation, Mariah folded her arms and casually took a step as she proceeded towards the hallway.   
  
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"Oh yah, that definitely hit the spot," grinned Tyson as he patted his stomach. Max glanced at his friend and stifled his laughter as he continued eating his food.  
  
The sociable Bladebreakers were in the hotel restaurant eating lunch. None of them had bothered to look for Kai because his normal ritual when they weren't competing was pretty much disappearing off somewhere during the sunlight hours and re-appearing again either before a match or dinner. It was so habitual now that Tyson gave it the official name of "Kai's Magical Vanishing Act".  
  
"Good afternoon boys," smiled Mr. Dickinson as he approached their table.   
  
"Oph Phay Fir!" greeted Tyson with his mouth full of God knows what.  
  
The kind old man raised an eyebrow and chuckled at Tyson's typical, but still comical behaviour. He shook his head with a grin, knowing that Tyson would never change.   
  
"Is there anything you need?" Kenny asked politely.   
  
"Well yes, thank you for asking," Mr. Dickinson smiled warm-heartedly. "I was wondering if any of you boys happen to know where Kai is."  
  
The four of them looked at each other and then looked back at Mr. Dickinson, shaking their heads. The aged gentleman looked at the floor disappointedly, but still managed an understanding nod, "I see," he sighed. "Well if any of you happen to find him, would you please tell him that I'm looking for him?"  
  
"Of course," agreed Rei, "but just out of curiosity, why can't you just wait till he gets back in the evening?"   
  
"Well I suppose I could do that," he thought wonderingly, putting a hand on his chin, "but I was hoping to tell him the news as soon as possible."   
  
"What news?" questioned Max.  
  
The elderly sir paused for a moment, contemplating if he should let Kai's teammates aware of the new findings. "Well," he finally began, "I think it's best if Kai is the first one to hear about it," he tried to explain. "It's somewhat of an issue I'm sure he'd prefer people not know about. I respect his privacy and I'd like to leave it up to him whether he should tell you boys or not."   
  
All of them nodded in agreement, all except Tyson that is. "Aw man!" he groaned. "Like he'd ever let us in on anything about him."   
  
"Even so Tyson, it's his life," Mr. Dickinson tried to reason. "You know he's not the sociable type. But I'm sure that he'll eventually come around when he's ready."  
  
Tyson swallowed his hamburger as he continued to complain, "Well can't you give us just a little itty bitty clue?" the meddlesome teenager persisted.   
  
Mr. Dickinson laughed lightly, "You are a very stubborn young man, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes sir!" he beamed.  
  
"All right then, I'll tell you *one* thing," the plump gentleman gave in. "Jamie," he said plainly.   
  
"Jamie?" Tyson blinked in puzzlement. "Who's he?"  
  
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Kai rummaged through the office hastily, looking for a phone. If he didn't find one soon, he was sure that he would lose his mind. He glanced up at the clock: 12:15. It would be hours before any of his team-mates figured out that he was missing, and being as impatient and annoyed as he was at that very moment, the blue-haired teenager did NOT want to wait that long. The sooner the door was opened, the sooner he'd get his Beyblade back and get away from her.   
  
You'd think that someone would have come to practice by now, but obviously people had other plans. Day offs weren't that frequent during the Asian tournament this year, and competitors were definitely using today to take some time to relax. Nerves have just been going crazy with all the pressure, and "training" grew to be the godly word for the sport. It had become as essential as breathing and when that's all you do from the time you wake up in the morning till you go to bed at night, it could get pretty tiring.   
  
"What *are* you doing?" a surprised voice asked from the direction of the door.   
  
"None of your business," he replied without being distracted from his current expedition.   
  
Mariah sweatdroppped as she observed the room, which had been taking apart from top to bottom. "Um…looking for something?" she asked, trying to make some kind of conversation get started.   
  
Kai shot her an irritated glance. "Didn't you hear me the first time? I said it's none of your business," he spat, quickly getting back to his search.  
  
'Oh yah, he's definitely still mad at me,' she thought unfortunately. 'Maybe it was a bit too much throwing his Beyblade out like that…' she began to wonder to herself. "Okay look," she abruptly began with a strong tone, "I know we're stuck here together, and I'm just as upset as you are."   
  
"Care to make a wager on that?" he retorted.   
  
"Oh jeez," she rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Okay, I'm just upset too then, happy?"  
  
"Not really," he scoffed.   
  
It took Mariah all of her willpower not to say anything rude back. 'Okay just keep your cool,' she coached herself in her head. "ANYWAY," she continued, ignoring his last comment, "I wanna get out, you wanna get out. You're obviously looking for something and two hands are better than one, right? Besides, you don't wanna clean up this mess all by yourself, do you?"   
  
She had a point there. Kai cocked an eyebrow as he took a look around the room. Funny, he never noticed before that it looked like it was hit by a tornado. "Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "The phone," he simply stated, turning back to his task.   
  
'Wow,' she thought to herself pleased. 'That wasn't as bad as I thought. Hm…we could be on the right track to an early prison release.'  
  
The two teens went on with their quest for the key to get out of their jail. Mariah didn't bother trying to talk to Kai anymore; she was sure that doing so would highly result in her Beyblade getting flung somewhere. Even though they were now tolerating each other a tad bit better than earlier, Mariah was still upset about what he had previously said to her. It was mean. It was out of line. It was contemptuous. It's too bad it was also true and Mariah knew it. Still, that didn't give him the right to say what he did.   
  
'What is up with this kid?' Kai wondered to himself as he glanced at Mariah from the corner of his eye. 'First she's hurling my Beyblade somewhere outside and now she's helping me. God, girls don't make any sense.'   
  
"I don't think the phone is in here," suggested the yellow-eyed teen, as she looked through a drawer for the tenth time.   
  
Kai ignored her implication and kept on searching. Mariah furrowed her brow, but left him to carry on with his wild goose chase. She carefully made her way through the disaster zone to the open door. "Just to let you know, I'm gonna check the other room across the hall, okay?" No response. She sighed as she sauntered to the opposite door.  
  
"Let's see…" she said out loud as her bright eyes scanned the room. It looked like another office. Probably an identical version of the one Kai was in, before he actually stepped in the room, that is.   
  
There was a wide, wooden desk in the right corner of the room with a professional-looking black lamp on top of it. She caught sight of a photocopier and a bunch of drawers and file cabinets on the other end of the room. The rest of the area was either filled with empty space or chairs.   
  
Mariah strolled over to the desk as she began looking for a phone. She went through the drawers cautiously, trying not to mess anything up too much. She knew they had their work cut out for them in the other room and she wasn't about to add another crash sector to clean up.   
  
After inspecting the desk to find nothing, she headed over to the file cabinet and began a new search there. No luck. The pink-haired girl sighed as she plopped herself onto a chair and stared at the ceiling. After discovering nothing of her interest up there, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the top of the chair.   
  
'Lee's gonna be so mad at me when I get out of here,' she began to think to herself unhappily. 'I can hear him right now… ~Mariah! Where have you been? Don't you know that you could have used this time training? While everyone else is lounging around, you could have been improving your Beyblading skills~ Oy, I won't even think about what he'll say to me when I tell him that I got myself locked in the training arena,' she cringed.   
  
Mariah finally opened her golden eyes as she tilted her head to the left. She blinked. Was she seeing things or was there something on top of the file cabinet that she didn't notice before?  
  
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Hope this chapter wuz alrite…. LoL ~^ Eh…I'll make the next chappie better; at least this one's longer than the first. Till next time, happy reading! 


	3. Motionless

Hey guys! Sorry for the two week absence -.- My dad just arrived and we've been spending tons of father-daughter time together ^^ I apologize in advance if this chapter is bleh ~^ I wrote most of it being half asleep like I am right now *points to clock* It's 12:30 =P Neway, I hope it's somewhat okay…and don't mind the ending XD  
  
Everywhere   
Chapter 3: Motionless  
  
Mariah stood up and reached towards the top of the file cabinet. She felt a familiar object settle into her palm as she slowly brought it down. Going back to her original position on the chair, she began to examine her new discovery.  
  
She tilted her head as she gazed curiously at the silver object in her hand, a Beyblade to be exact. And it sure was one helluva Beyblade as a matter of fact. She figured it probably belongs to someone else competing in the Asian tournament. With the mind-boggling parts that were clearly obvious right in front of her, it was apparent that it belonged to a serious Beyblader; maybe even more serious than Mr. Cheerful next door.   
  
The pink-haired girl ran her finger on the bit and attack ring inquiringly. As she touched it's metal texture, she felt a strange gut feeling in her stomach. It hinted towards two things: there was something special about this Beyblade, but there was something hidden, but dangerous about it too.   
  
"Ow!" she winced as she felt a prick and instinctively dropped the Beyblade on the floor.   
  
She furrowed her brow as she examined her right index finger, noticing that there was a small cut on it. It was barely visible, but it sure did hurt. As a human instinct, she put her finger in her mouth, trying to ease the sting.   
  
She glanced down at the object that cut her and sighed. 'This is definitely a weird Beyblade,' she declared in her head. 'Still, I gotta admit, it does grab my curiosity…'  
  
Mariah leaned down and gingerly picked up the Beyblade again, this time with the other hand.   
  
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"Jamie Jamie Jamie…" repeated Tyson wonderingly. "Who could this kid be?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.   
  
The rest of the team shrugged; they were just as much in the dark as Tyson was.   
  
After Mr. Dickinson had left, the three Beybladers had headed for the park to train, while Kenny brought Dizzi along with him, as usual. After a bit of practicing, they decided to take a quick break and were now lounging around with nothing to do but wonder about this mysterious person somehow connected to Kai.   
  
"We gotta ask him who this guy is," declared Tyson as he leaned back against the bench. "I'm dying of curiosity!"  
  
"You heard what Mr. Dickinson said," Chief broke in as he looked up from his laptop. "This is obviously something private Tyson. We can't just go and bombard Kai with questions as soon as we see him."  
  
"Well why not?" he asked as he looked up at Kenny. "Kai's always been too mysterious. We're a team remember? A team that he's part of. We're all supposed to be buddies," he sighed. "And even after all we went through last year, he still acts the way he does."  
  
"I know what your saying Tyson, but maybe it's something personal," Ray tried to point out, remembering his past experience with the White Tigers. "And you can't really change who you are. Anyway, we shouldn't be poking into his life if he doesn't want us to, even if we are his team-mates."   
  
Tyson grumbled something incoherently as he pulled his cap over his face. "Come guys," began his muffled voice, "aren't you the least bit curious about who Jamie is?"  
  
No reply.   
  
"Hey I know!" Tyson jumped off of the bench excitedly. "How about we go through Kai's stuff and see if there's anything there???" he suggested eagerly.   
  
"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Max, standing up. "Kai would sooooooo kill us!!!"  
  
"And going through people's stuff without a warrant *is* illegal," added Kenny sternly.   
  
Tyson grinned, disregarding his friends's remarks. "We'll only get in trouble if we're caught," he implied smugly. "It'll be fine! We'll make sure to put everything back just the way we found it. Kai won't notice a thing."   
  
His team-mates all gave him unsure looks as they shifted around uncomfortably. "I guess that's adios for team work then," Tyson rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm gonna check it out with or without you guys. If any of you change your mind, I'll be in the dorm."   
  
The other Bladebreakers watched as Tyson casually headed back to their hotel. "Should we really be letting him do this?" asked Kenny as he stared after his friend.   
  
Ray couldn't help but to smirk despite himself. "Well can we stop him?" he asked while raising an eyebrow.   
  
"Heh, you got a point there," grinned Max. "Trying to stop him would be like trying to stop a tornado," he laughed for a brief moment, but then paused to think. "You know actually…maybe we should go with him."   
  
"WHAT?" burst out Chief in surprise.   
  
"Hey hear me out!" the blonde said defensively. "Tyson can barely keep track of his stuff, do you really think he can manage going through Kai's things and putting them back perfectly?" he asked. "And what about if Kai comes back? I know if Tyson gets in trouble it would be his fault, but he's still our friend. We gotta be looking out for each other!"   
  
"And what about Kai?" asked Ray.   
  
Max laughed nervously, putting his arm behind his head. "Well if we help Tyson find this out now, he won't bug Kai about it later," he replied, trying to sound reasonable. "In that case, we'd be doing Kai a favour by helping Tyson."  
  
"You know…that actually makes sense in a weird bizarre way," commented Dizzi.   
  
"See? Even Dizzi gets what I'm saying," Max smiled triumphantly.   
  
Kenny and Ray exchanged glances and sighed as they reluctantly agreed with the go-lucky blonde. "Yes! I knew you guys would see it my way," he grinned. "What are we waiting for? Let's go catch up with Tyson!" he said before dashing off, followed by his team-mates.   
  
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After tearing the room from top to bottom, Kai finally gave up his search and sat on a chair in the middle of the mess. He crossed his arms boredly and closed his eyes thinking. The only thing his mind was set on was finding a way out of the training arena. He really didn't care anymore about being stuck with Mariah, at least now she was being tolerable. His main concern was his Dranzer. He would surely let all hell loose if anything happened to his Beyblade.   
  
"Oh wow!" exclaimed the voice from the other room.   
  
Kai looked up curiously as he finally opened his eyes. He pushed himself out of the chair as he casually began to stroll towards the room Mariah was in to see exactly what she was wowing about. He slowly opened the door a tiny bit and took a peek.   
  
There was Mariah who had her back facing the door. She was hunched over on a chair as if she was examining something. The blue-haired teen silently walked over to where she sat as he attempted to see what it was over her shoulder, but no avail.   
  
"What *are* you looking at?" he finally asked.   
  
Now all people should know that you are not supposed to be sneaking up behind a girl like a ghost because of how they react. Especially when they least expect it. Unfortunately, Kai wasn't the type of guy who knew a lot about girls. Too bad.   
  
Mariah let out a high-pitched shriek as she instinctively shot up like lightning, causing her chair to be flung backwards and dropping whatever it was that was in her hand. Good thing Kai was pretty fast. He swiftly moved out of the chair's way, but unfortunately couldn't avoid her scream.   
  
"Do you normally scream like that?" he winced.   
  
Mariah whirled around to face him and gave him an angry glare. "Only when people decide to sneak up behind me and scare the living daylights out of me!" she hollered.   
  
Kai smirked. "Well you knew I was here."   
  
"CORRECTION: I knew you were in the STADIUM. Not five centimetres away from me!" she wailed. "Is this what you do for fun??"  
  
"Not usually, but maybe I should try this more often," he answered, raising an eyebrow. "Your little reaction there was kind of entertaining."   
  
"Well I'm so happy that one of us enjoyed this little incident," she said rolling her eyes.   
  
"CORRECTION," he began to mimic her. "I didn't say I ENJOYED it, I said it was entertaining."   
  
"Are you trying to funny?" she questioned, crossing her arms.   
  
"No."  
  
She laid her hands down to her sides as she brought her face closer to his. "Good," she scoffed, locking her golden eyes on his, "cuz you're not."   
  
He shot back the same pretentious glare. "If you say so."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Silence. Staring. Standing. Still.  
  
'Okay…this is getting weird,' Mariah began to think to herself. 'Why is he still staring at me? Wait a sec, why am I still staring at him??'  
  
Eyes remained locked. His dark auburn eyes continued to pierce into her golden one's while she did the same. There was absolutely no flinching, no moving, no nothing except for the intense glaring.   
  
'What the hell is going on? Why can't I take my eyes off of her??' Kai shouted in his head, as he tried to tear his gaze away from her's. 'This has to end. NOW. Just move Kai. MOVE DAMNIT!'   
  
His pleas were finally answered as he moved. Too bad he wasn't specific in the course he wanted to take because his body went the opposite direction that he had in mind.   
  
'Too close…' Mariah squeaked in her mind as his face became just centimetres from her's.   
  
Her pulse raced. Her breaths turned short and quick. She willed with all her strength for her legs to co-operate, but they remained as still as anything. Something would happen. Something in the next five seconds.   
  
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Didn't I tell you not to mind the ending? Gomen, I need to sleep and I'd write more, but I wanted to get in a new chapter ASAP. Till next time ^^ 


	4. State Confusion

Hi reader, here's chappie 4! Err… the title of the chappie doesn't really have a lotta do w/the chappie, but I couldn't come up with anything better XD Neway, sorry it's kinda short, but there aren't any cliff hangers here so there's something to be happy about! ^^ gomen for ne baka spelling or grammer… *half asleep*Oh and thanks for the people who do support this fic, it makes me feel all warm n fuzzy! LoL XD Neway, onto the fic!   
  
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Everywhere  
  
Chapter 4: State Confusion  
  
'Who does he think he is?! Why is he…?! What is he…?!" Mariah's mind raced with thoughts at the impossible situation that she got herself into. Never in a million years would she have ever thought that something like this would happen. Well perhaps it had crossed her mind when she was younger about Ray, but Kai? That was just completely unrealistic.  
  
With only a mere few centimetres of space drifting between their faces, they could feel each other's small and swift breathing. Ironically, despite all of the frantic pleas in their minds, the two bladers ceased to move away from each other. It was as if there was an invisible force keeping them there.   
  
'What am I doing? Why can't I end this?' Kai asked himself in his head. This was not something he was used to dealing and he definitely did not know how to handle it very well. All he could manage to do was to clench his fist tensely as he urgently tried to control the nervous pounding in his chest. He knew that Mariah could probably feel it too with how close they were.   
  
The blue-haired teenager inwardly flinched, realizing that that he had no power over what was happening. Mariah was also fully aware of Kai's findings.  
  
Movement of free will was absolutely positively out of the question.  
  
The little control that was left was soon entirely lost to Kai as his hands unexpectedly loosened and relaxed. It seemed that the hammering against his rib cage had calmed down as well. Intuitively, he began to reach out to the pink-haired girl's hand. She responded as she remained still, while continuing to stare into his deep auburn eyes.   
  
It was as if they were in a movie. One of those classic romance films like "A Walk to Remember". Two teens suddenly fall under the powerful spell of the eye lock and the guy slowly moves forward to kiss the girl. Typical situation. Identical to the one at hand.   
  
The spark level between the two progressively began to rise as both teens gradually began to tilt their heads.   
  
Closer…  
  
Closer…  
  
Closer…  
  
And finally…  
  
Mariah gasped as she felt Kai place his hand on hers. She suddenly pulled back, feeling the small cut on her finger begin to sting again. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she whimpered quietly as she began to blow it softly.   
  
Spark level falling.   
  
"That hurt…" she mumbled under breath, wincing from the pain.   
  
Kai, who was now free to move as he wished, stepped back as he slowly began to regain his regular composure. Mariah continued to tend to her hand as the two teens avoided having to look at each other at all costs. Cows would turn pink and purple first before they let themselves get caught in that trap again.  
  
Silence soon began to hang over them like a huge umbrella as they faced opposite directions.   
  
Spark level down.  
  
'I gotta get outta here,' Mariah thought to herself, staring at the door. She was dying for some space to breathe. As was her prison partner.   
  
"I…uh…have to run to the bathroom," she finally spoke up, heading for the door quickly without giving Kai a second glance.   
  
All Kai could do was to basically stand there, contemplating over what just happened. That had to be one of the top five things on his "this-could-never-happen" list. And with good reason too. It was definitely not something that took place frequently.   
  
Before he had a chance to think about it any longer, he noticed a little glint on the floor. He cocked an eyebrow curiously as he walked over to find out what it was.   
  
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"Hey Tyson wait up!" Max yelled after his friend.   
  
Tyson stopped to turn around, catching a glimpse of his teammates running towards him. A wide grin spread across his face as they quickly neared.   
  
"I knew you guys would eventually come around!" he greeted with a smirk.   
  
Max returned the smile as he glomped his friend. "We're a team! We always stick together!' he declared laughing.   
  
"That's more I like it," agreed Tyson, slapping the blonde a high five. "So are we waiting for an invitation or something? Let's get going!"   
  
The others nodded their heads accordingly as they all continued towards their hotel.   
  
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A young girl with short silver locks stood outside a large inn. She glanced at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand and looked back up at the hotel address. She simply stood there for a few moments staring at the building hesitantly with her dark crimson eyes.   
  
'What am I doing here?' she finally asked herself, beginning to regret coming to the hotel in the first place. 'I'm still mad at him,' she told herself firmly, folding her arms around her stomach.   
  
She let out a soft sigh as her auburn eyes began scanning the paved sidewalk in thought. 'It's not like he'd want to see me anyway and I sure don't care about seeing him either…wait a sec, what the hell? That doesn't make any sense!' she exclaimed in her mind. 'Why else would I be standing in front of some lousy hotel if not to see him?'  
  
"Oh jeezuz, this is so screwed," she groaned out loud.   
  
The teenager shrugged, a bit vexed. She wasn't too sure about what she wanted to do; thus, she came to the decision that maybe she should just stay away for now.   
  
She shoved the piece of paper into her pocket nonchalantly, getting ready to leave. Just as she was about to go, a boy's voice suddenly broke in.  
  
"Are you looking for something?" he asked.   
  
She turned her head to the right where the question came from, finding three boys standing there. "Oh…no," she said, shaking her head. "Thanks for asking though."  
  
"Noooo problem," grinned the blonde. "Hey wait a sec, are you a blader?" he asked curiously, noticing a launcher sticking out of her bag.   
  
"Um…yah," she answered, nodding.   
  
"So are you competing in the Asian Tournament?" asked a boy with raven hair.   
  
The silver-hared teen laughed quietly as she gave them another nod. These guys sure weren't the shy type. "Yah, but it's my first time here, so I'm not really that experienced yet in the competing level. Are you guys also competitors?"  
  
The navy-haired kid pumped his fist as he bobbed his head up and down energetically. "We're the Bladebreakers," he declared proudly.   
  
The girl blinked. 'Did he just say Bladebreakers?'   
  
"Oh…*the* Bladebreakers that won the championships last year?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding too interested.   
  
"That would be us," grinned the blonde enthusiastically.   
  
"Oh…wow," she said, glancing at each of the members. "Um…isn't there one more person on your team?"   
  
"Oh you mean Kai?" a small brunette spoke up. "Well…he prefers working alone, but he's still part of the team."  
  
"I see," she nodded. 'Same Kai…still pushing people away, figures," she thought to herself. "Well, anyway, my team's probably waiting for me. It was nice meeting you guys; I'll probably see you at the tournament. Catch ya later," she smiled, before walking off.   
  
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"Now that was weird. I think I'm going crazy being stuck in this stupid stadium," Mariah declared to herself, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. "This place is making me do whacked up stuff!" she exclaimed.  
  
The pink-haired teen groaned as she turned on the faucet and stuck her finger under the running water. After a minute or so, she stopped and began splashing some of the cold liquid on her face. She silently wished that this was all just some deranged dream and that maybe the cold water would wake her up. Too bad it wasn't a dream.   
  
"I just want some air," she sighed to herself.   
  
That little incident with Kai was too close for comfort. Not to mention incredibly freaky and movie-like. She inwardly promised herself that she'd never watch another romance movie ever again. Media really did have a knack for brain washing the impressionable minds of teenagers.  
  
Mariah finally dragged herself out of the washroom and decided to head for the dish. She might as well train if she had to be stuck here.   
  
As she was about to enter the open blading area, she felt her finger begin to sting again. She crinkled her nose unhappily as she stopped for a brief moment before turning back, deciding to go on a new hunt for a band-aid.   
  
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And that's all for now; oh and don't worry about the girl with silver hair… she has no love interest with Kai whatsoever XD Till next time 


	5. Diverse Measures

Merry Late Christmas guys ^^ For anybody who actually waited a *really* long time for this...I'm sorry. Basically, I was getting really discouraged for writing this fic for certain reasons and I just didn't want to write anymore. When I *did* want to go back to it, I figured it had been so long since I last updated that nobody probably even cared anymore. I *was* gonna just give up on it...but it's unfair to the people reading this and myself. I really do like this fic and I know some of you people do too...so, I shall do my best to continue. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :) It's longer than usual *wink*  
  
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Everywhere  
  
~Last Chapter of Everywhere (since you all probably forgot)~  
  
Kai found something glinting on the floor and was about to check it out. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bladebreakers ran into a silver-haired girl in front of the hotel. Back at the stadium, Mariah set out in search for a band-aid.   
  
Chapter 5: Diverse Measures   
  
The four boys exchanged glances as the girl left; they were somewhat confused about the little meeting. Why was she there anyway? Oh well, at least she seemed nice enough, which was an upside since the usual encounter the guys first had with other competitors was a bit short of pleasant.   
  
Without warning, Tyson smacked his fist against his other hand, acquiring his friends's attention. "Okay guys, time for Operation J," he declared, resuming back to the task.   
  
"J?" Max echoed, stifling laughter.   
  
Tyson raised an eyebrow sternly. "J for Jamie. Every mission needs a special code name, you know," he stated matter-of-factly.   
  
The blonde rolled his eyes, but a small grin still managed to loiter onto his freckled cheeks. It was nice to have someone like Tyson around, regardless of how crazy he acted at times.  
  
"Okay team, are you ready to take on this dangerous assignment?" the navy-haired teen began, semi-seriously. "The mission, if you choose to accept, is to discover the identity of this "Jamie" character. Be aware that the consequences are dire if we are caught," he added darkly.   
  
His friends glanced at each other with the same dumbfounded expression painted on their faces; Tyson sure said the weirdest things. Nevertheless, the other teens decided to play along, giving their friend stiff nods.   
  
"Okay troops! Let's get moving!" ordered the fourteen-year-old, marching towards the hotel, his recently proclaimed "troops" trudging along behind him.   
  
  
The silver haired girl's claret eyes watched the four boys curiously behind a newsstand. She couldn't help but to smile at their little performance. Kai's team was a very odd group of boys indeed. Nice, but still odd.   
  
She began contemplating about how Kai and them got along. The blue-haired blader had such aloof personality. Being in a group with boys like that would surely drive any lone wolf crazy. And Kai, to her knowledge, wasn't exactly the most friendliest or patient individual.  
  
With a grin and soft laughter, she finally dismissed her speculations and decided she had better get back to her team before they started wondering where she had disappeared to. Swiftly, she took one last look at the hotel before continuing on her way.   
  
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Kai picked up the silver Beyblade and began examining it inquisitively. It was quite an intense model. Advanced parts and a mind-blowing attack ring. From all corners, there didn't seem to be a single flaw.   
  
'So this is what she's been looking at,' he thought to himself. 'Hm. Well it sure is a piece of work."   
  
The metal object sat in his hand in an unusually comfortable manner, as if it had been there before. Strange. He didn't remembering seeing it prior to today, yet it still felt familiar. It felt like one of those items from one's child hood, but that couldn't be right…could it? All Kai remembered about growing up was training in the abbey, memories he'd rather not recall.   
  
Kai shrugged away his thoughts, along with the Beyblade as he slipped it into his pocket. It was pointless to ponder over something so petty. It was just a sophisticated Beyblade, nothing more. He's seen lots of high-tech stuff, this wasn't any different…except for maybe that strange feeling it gave him…that small sense of déjà vu…that part of him that-  
  
RING!  
  
Kai blinked out of his musings. Was he hearing things or did a phone just ring?  
  
RING!  
  
There it was again! Now, either a phone was actually ringing or his desperation to escape was making him delusional.  
  
RING!  
  
'Okay, that has to be real,' he finally declared to himself, heading towards the door. He paused briefly by the doorframe, waiting for the familiar chime to return once again. When it finally came, he resumed his walk towards the sound. The constant ringing ultimately lead him to a small, isolated office. It's no surprise they missed checking this place, it looked like a closet.   
  
Stepping onto the soft carpet, his eyes began wandering around the room, searching for the phone. Mechanically, his gaze came across a small desk with an ergonomically correct chair situated beside it and a petite black lamping sitting comfortably on the dark wood. Adjacent to the desk was a rather large file cabinet that took about the same amount of space, if not more, than the desk.   
  
The ringing had long stopped, but Kai knew that the phone was in this room somewhere; he just had to look for it. Besides the fact that this office was rather cramped, the bright side was that at least he wouldn't have too much choice about where he would be looking.   
  
With a low grunt, Kai quickly stretched his arms, getting ready for another room inspection.   
  
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A certain pink haired girl poked her head out of the room she was in. She had finally found a band-aid and was now very curious and eager to find out where the ringing sound she heard a second ago had come from.  
  
When she initially heard it, she thought it was probably her imagination. Although as the ringing progressed, she came to realize that it might actually be real. Mariah would have gone to investigate sooner, but at that time, she was rather engaged trying to find a band-aid. So, she decided to disregard the ringing till she was finished with her most recent quest. It's always best to do one thing at a time anyway… unless you had the wonderful talent of being a multitasker.   
  
Quickly securing the newly place band-aid, she started her way through the hallway. As she walked, her mind unconsciously began to wander back to the awkward moment with Kai.   
  
'How in the world did that happen?' she wondered to herself, gazing blindly ahead. 'Why did I even bring my face so close to his? And why the hell couldn't I move? Ugh! I blame it on all those evil romance movies. They are so rotting my brain,' she declared to herself sternly.   
  
Mariah instinctively began twirling a strand of pink hair with her index finger, still thinking about the bizarre incident. Her pace soon decreased to a leisurely stride. Her mind, on the other hand, worked quickly trying to come up with explanations for all the annoying questions that were constantly raiding her brain.   
  
'It wasn't all my fault…I mean, he didn't do much to move either!!' she thought in exclamation. 'But…why didn't he do anything? Lord, Kai definitely is *not* your ordinary guy. I always thought he was just one of those typical hot bastards that think they're superior to everyone and goes for the loner act and-"  
  
Mariah not only cut off her musings, but her stroll was brought to a sudden cessation as well. Her vision finally returned to reality as she stared through the empty hall. Her golden eyes were widely open, just as her mouth formed an "o" of incredulity.   
  
Finally, the pink-haired White Tiger reinitiated her wonderings. "D-did I just call Kai hot?" she whispered to herself in disbelief. "Okay no…I did not mean what I think I meant. Kai is definitely not hot. He's totally repulsive! Well…maybe not *totally*…but he's now hot…okay maybe a bit…well sort of…I mean-GAH!!" she finally let out a shriek of frustration.   
  
After letting out some of that exasperation, she sighed, firmly pushing the previous thoughts out of her head. It was getting pretty damn annoying thinking about them and she definitely needed to give her brain a rest anyway. Unfortunately before she could do that, the voice of the source of all this oddity bounced to her ears.   
  
"What were you yelling about?" that oh-so familiar irritated voice asked her.   
  
Soon enough, the goaded voice was matched as that arrogant blue-haired blader stepped out of the room he was in and was now standing across from her, giving her an intrusive stare. Mariah sighed, shaking her head. There was just no escape, was there?   
  
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"Tyson! I think Kai will notice that we've been going through his stuff if you keep that up!" exclaimed the brunette, staring at his friend with a disapproving expression. "And y'know Kai will probably be here any second now!"   
  
"What makes you say that? Kai won't notice a thing," he replied looking up from the duffel bag he was going through. "And anyway, Ray's keeping lookout. He'll tell us if Mr. Cranky Pants is coming."   
  
Kenny, along with Max, sighed, as they shook their heads. Figures. Of course if anybody could miss the obvious kink in this picture it would be Tyson.   
  
Most of the items in Kai's bag lay scattered on the ground, littering the light-coloured carpet. Tyson had a strange notion that Kai had probably wrapped up whatever he was hiding in a piece of clothing, which explained the unfolded garments thrown carelessly on the bed. After going through more or less half of Kai's stuff, he had yet to come up with anything significant. In addition, he had also yet to engage in trying to clean up this "little" mess.  
  
"Tyson you know you're going to have to fold all these clothes again…" Max tried to point out, picking up one of Kai's distinctive sleeveless black tops.   
  
His brown-gloved hands suspended their present mission as his dark coloured eyes looked up to meet his friend's blue ones. "Fold?" the navy-haired boy echoed in genuine surprise.   
  
The fair-haired teen bobbed his head up and down. Subsequently, he picked up another dark article; this time, a pair of teal cargo pants. Soon joining Max, Kenny began collecting the white scarves that involuntarily decorated their room. The long, silk-like material flowed across the floor, over the cabinets, on the bed, and at the present moment, along the short arms of a certain Bladebreaker with glasses. Tyson, on the other hand, was grinning tactlessly at his friends. Beyblading he could do, but folding clothes? Well…that wasn't exactly his specialty.   
  
Tyson cocked an eyebrow, scratching his chin with a lopsided grin plastered on his face. "Fold…" he repeated again. "Well I guess I'm glad that you guys are here then, right?"   
  
His two friends responded by rolling their eyes. What a typical Tyson-like thing to say.   
  
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The white hotel door barely creaked as a girl with silver hair slowly opened it. Her crimson eyes warily peered into the living room. Empty.  
  
'Good. I guess they went out for lunch,' she thought to herself. 'That gives me some time to think of an excuse.'  
  
Slipping out of her light gray jacket, she let out a sigh of relief. As much as she loved her group, she preferred that her team captain did not know about her little outing. He was a tad touchy when members left without telling anyone, but he had good reason for that. After finding out that one of their members was a paid spy for another group, any captain would become more cautious concerning his teammates.   
  
It's kind of sad actually that a leader is unable to fully trust his team, especially in this sport. Beyblading wasn't all about skill. It had a lot to do with trusting your friends and helping each other out too. Unfortunately, this particular team was lacking that important trait.   
  
The young girl walked quietly into the living room, sliding the bag off of her shoulder along the way. Casually placing it on the floor, she settled herself onto the nearby couch. After walking around for most of the morning trying to find that hotel, a nice break was definitely one of her present top priorities.   
  
As her head rested on the soft pillow, her mind unconsciously drifted back in time. Her thoughts unintentionally focused back to the day before he left. That day was one of the last she'd see him as he used to be: the kind soul he really was.   
  
  
"Where are you going?" a small girl asked curiously.  
  
A boy with blue hair looked at the younger child hesitantly, unsure of what to say to her. "On a trip," he finally said.  
  
"A trip?" she exclaimed excitedly, her crimson eyes filled with zeal. "Can I come too?"  
  
Again, he gave her a hesitant look. "You're too young," he said gently.   
  
"Too young?!" she squealed, eyes firing up. "I'm four! I'm not too young," she said, her rebellious expression turning into a pout. Sniffing, she hopped on her bed and buried her head in a pillow. "Are you leaving forever because you don't like me anymore?"  
  
"What? Of course not! And I'm not leaving forever, I'll be back," he tried to reassure her, climbing onto the bed as well.   
  
"What if something happens to you?" she questioned, poking her head from under the pillow.   
  
He grinned, lying down beside her. "Nothing will happen to me. I'm six; I can take care of myself."   
  
"When are you going?" she pressed on.   
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"TOMORROW!?" she wailed, instantly sitting up again. "But that's so soon!"  
  
The boy echoed her movement, pushing himself up as well. "I know…but I'm not gone yet, right?" He lifted her chin tenderly, meeting her teary gaze. Her eyes unmistakably mirrored his own; both had the same brilliant mahogany colour, and the same spark of vivacity.   
  
"No…you're not gone yet…" she repeated, whimpering softly.   
  
Her soft cries were soon soothed as he brought her into a warm hug. She couldn't help but to smile; his hugs always made her feel better. They were just so soothing. When she was in his arms, she just felt that everything would be all right.   
  
Finally, she moved a bit away from him, enough to meet his gaze again. "Promise you'll come back?"   
  
"Promise." She smiled, as that feeling of comfort washed over her again in another embrace.   
  
  
Knock! Knock!   
  
The silver-haired girl groaned slightly, opening her eyes. She must have drifted off a bit. She promptly sat up, stretching her muscles.   
  
Knock! Knock!  
  
'That must be them…don't they have a key?' she asked herself, attempting to stand up.   
  
Knock! Knock!  
  
"I'm coming already!" she yelled. Finally managing to acquire some feeling in her legs, she quickly headed to answer the door.   
  
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"Well? What were you yelling about?" Kai repeated, eyeing the pink-haired blader suspiciously.   
  
"Like you care," she retorted, diverting her gaze.   
  
"Hn. You're right, I don't," he scoffed, turning back into the room he was previously in.   
  
Mariah rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. 'Looks like it's back to the old drawing board,' she thought to herself, recognizing their familiar dialogue from earlier. Sighing, she reluctantly started her way to the room Kai was in. She wasn't too thrilled about being in the same room as him again, but she also knew he was probably in there looking for the phone too.   
  
"What do you want?" he asked, noticing the White Tiger's presence in the petite room.   
  
"Do we have to go through this again?" she asked, a bored expression on her face.   
  
She heard a low grunt of annoyance and then a muttered, "do what you want."   
  
Mariah shook her head with a grin, walking opposite to where Kai was situated. Now she had hoped that being on the opposite end of the room as him would put some distance between them, but it was a small office. Being on the north and south poles didn't really help much.   
  
'Why must she follow me?" Kai asked himself, looking through the same cupboard again. 'I think there's already been enough 'together' time between us. UGH! Damn you door for lacking the ability to open on the inside!' he cursed mentally.  
  
The golden-eyed girl looked up, hearing incoherent mumbling in the office. "Kai?" she called out softly.   
  
The Bladebreaker captain instantaneously brought his attention away from his search, soon locking his eyes on her's. 'No, not this again,' he groaned inwardly. "WHAT?" he asked sharply, keeping his gaze and tone as cold as ice.   
  
"Um…I thought you said something," she answered quietly, immediately breaking the stare before anything bizarre happened again. "I guess not," she seemed to whisper to the floor.   
  
Kai watched her for second. Maybe he said that a bit meaner than it had to be. She hadn't even dared to say anything to him before that little call of his name. And even when she did that, it lacked its usual pursuit of defiance compared to earlier. Maybe she was trying to be nice? That was new, but still considerate. So what did Kai do in return of her thoughtful attempt? Hiss back like an angry snake being provoked.   
  
Now Kai wasn't the most sensitive guy in the world, but he wasn't completely emotionless, not anymore at least. After last year's experience, he did gain *some* of his lost compassion. Of course, he rarely showed it, but it was still there.   
  
"Mariah?" Kai finally began in a direct tone.   
  
"Yes?" she answered curiously.   
  
Still keeping himself occupied with his search, he began to speak again. "I suggest you don't try to talk to me right now," he said plainly. "All this crap is annoying me," he stated simply, not bothering to look up.   
  
Then, it was silent again. 'Was that…an apology?' Mariah wondered to herself, staring at the back of her fellow companion. It wasn't anything like you traditional "I'm sorry", but with guys like Kai, you had to read between the lines. Mariah smiled, recommencing her own quest. 'There might be actually more to him,' she thought contentedly, the grin still lingering on her face. 


End file.
